Prompt: What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement
Observe As I sat in the back of the classroom, the teacher went over a quiz in the front of the class. My CT did not move around the room, but encouraged the students to pay attention by randomly calling on each student to give an answer. Also, if he saw out of the corner of his eye that someone was not paying attention he would direct his statement toward that person. For example, if John weren’t paying attention, the CT would remark, “Isn’t that right, John? Did you get a 100 on the quiz?” This type of management works to keep the students on their toes and most of the students were actively participating. Once the review is over, the CT assigns a worksheet that goes along with the book chapter they just finished. The students are asked to quietly work on the worksheet and stay in their seats. When the students are assigned this work, most get started right away. There are a few students who start small chit-chat and get up and start walking around the room. The teacher is inputting grades on the front computer and lets this go on for a few minutes before reminding the students that they need to be quiet and stay in there seat. This goes on until the bell rings and the students leave for the next period.
Reflect The students we able to stay engaged while going over the quiz. I think the teacher’s method of randomly calling on students is a great way to make sure everyone is following along and paying attention. While I don’t think this method would work for middle school students, I think it really works well in the high school setting. When my teacher assigns a worksheet and book work the students immediately become disengaged, especially the ones who were barely paying attention to begin with. The volume remains low for the remainder of class, but as soon as the students get the worksheet a few start to get up and mill around. Then, as students start to finish the worksheet more people start to visit with neighbors and turn around to talk to friends. If the teacher did not keep reminding the students to be quiet I could easily see how the volume could escalate. Overall, I think my CT had a great strategy in the beginning, but needed to keep the momentum going for the second half of the class.
Observe
As I sat in the back of the classroom, the teacher went over a quiz in the front of the class. My CT did not move around the room, but encouraged the students to pay attention by randomly calling on each student to give an answer. Also, if he saw out of the corner of his eye that someone was not paying attention he would direct his statement toward that person. For example, if John weren’t paying attention, the CT would remark, “Isn’t that right, John? Did you get a 100 on the quiz?” This type of management works to keep the students on their toes and most of the students were actively participating.
Once the review is over, the CT assigns a worksheet that goes along with the book chapter they just finished. The students are asked to quietly work on the worksheet and stay in their seats. When the students are assigned this work, most get started right away. There are a few students who start small chit-chat and get up and start walking around the room. The teacher is inputting grades on the front computer and lets this go on for a few minutes before reminding the students that they need to be quiet and stay in there seat. This goes on until the bell rings and the students leave for the next period.
Reflect
The students we able to stay engaged while going over the quiz. I think the teacher’s method of randomly calling on students is a great way to make sure everyone is following along and paying attention. While I don’t think this method would work for middle school students, I think it really works well in the high school setting. When my teacher assigns a worksheet and book work the students immediately become disengaged, especially the ones who were barely paying attention to begin with. The volume remains low for the remainder of class, but as soon as the students get the worksheet a few start to get up and mill around. Then, as students start to finish the worksheet more people start to visit with neighbors and turn around to talk to friends. If the teacher did not keep reminding the students to be quiet I could easily see how the volume could escalate. Overall, I think my CT had a great strategy in the beginning, but needed to keep the momentum going for the second half of the class.